Game of the Year 2025 – Best Remake

It seems just like yesterday we were handing out our Game of the Year 2024 awards, but time has passed and another year is close to wrapping up. Which means it is time for our Game of the Year 2025 Awards! We are starting this year’s awards with one that is the epitome of the saying “everything old is new again”, and that is the Best Remake Award! Which game has come back from years past to grab our attention again?

What could be a better winner than Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake for this award? This package takes us back to the very beginning of Dragon Quest, the origin point of a franchise that has enamoured millions of fans around the world, and done it in such style with the use of the HD-2D engine bringing new life to two classics.

It is not just the way Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake looks that make it our winner this year. Both games were essentially rebuilt and expanding, adding new stories, party members, changes to the battle system, as well as an orchestral soundtrack. Not only does this remake offer something new to newcomers, older fans of Dragon Quest get a new experience with the remake.

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake is so good in fact that the only negative thing we could find when reviewing it was that progression could be vague. Other than that, the total package offered and the improvements has made Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake our Best Remake of 2025.

Yooka-Replaylee – Runner Up

Back in 2017, Yooka-Laylee promised to bring back the 3D collectathon platformer in the vein of Banjo-Kazooie. It succeeded, in some ways, but the original release didn’t quite live up to being a bird and bear’s spiritual successor. Instead of letting things lie, Playtonic Games decided to remake the game and re-release it as Yooka-Replaylee. What we got was an experience where the potential of the original release was finally realised with major gameplay improvements and more content.

Yooka-Replaylee is a remake that does what a good remake should, and that is vastly improve upon what came before. Quality of life changes has made Yooka and Laylee’s adventure much more friendly for players, which makes it appealing to young and old players alike.

The Talos Principle Reawakened – Runner Up

How do you improve upon one of the most critically acclaimed puzzle games of all time? Ten years ago The Talos Principle was released to huge acclaim, and this year Croteam re-released the game after upgrading it to Unreal Engine 5, and taking the opportunity to update other parts of the game as well. What we got is a game that retains all of the excellence the original had combining it with a fresh new look, the Road to Gehenna and the new chapter In the Beginning, which added a good few more hours’ worth of gameplay.

Perhaps the biggest addition to The Talos Principle Reawakened is the Puzzle Editor, allowing the community to create and share their own challenges with others. That alone makes this remake bigger than the original, as it provides fans with a possible endless supply of content. And providing ways to keep a much loved game active for the long term should be applauded.

Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order)

• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered
• Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

That’s all for today’s award. Come back for tomorrow’s Best Narrative award, and all the tall tales that video games can tell.

Tags: Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake, Game of the Year 2025, The Talos Principle, Yooka-Laylee, Yooka-Replaylee